


Rise

by traversary



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Canon Compliant, Character Study, Gen, Hopeful Ending, Terra (Kingdom Hearts) Appreciation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-20
Updated: 2019-10-20
Packaged: 2020-12-27 00:15:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21109529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/traversary/pseuds/traversary
Summary: "I want to know:  What dark did you conquer in your story? Mountains do not rise without earthquakes."





	Rise

Ribbons of shadow dispersed around him as the portal folded closed, ending his pursuit. Xehanort was gone, and along with him, the blind fury that had gripped Terra’s heart. 

_ What had he done? _

Despair spilled over him, a freezing shroud that sapped whatever strength he’d had left after the battle with Eraqus. His breath escaped in a great rush as his knees crashed to the cobblestone, his keyblade dissolving as his fingers curled against the familiar stonework beneath him. 

Home. The forecourt where he’d spent countless hours training with his master, playing with his friends, gazing at the stars and dreaming… But soon, there would be no stars here. Above, the sky roiled and deepened to black with the darkness Xehanort had summoned. 

Fierce gusts kicked at Terra’s hair and clothes as the shadows above concentrated into a crackling dark sun, and around it, the very heavens coiled into a vast vortex with a fathomless darkness waiting at its heart. Beneath him, the ground trembled and heaved as if the seams of world itself were being undone. Such _ power— _

A soul-rendering _ crack _ resonated through the tempest as the elegant skyways of his castle home twisted and snapped. Their ornamental chains flailed as the darkness dragged entire towers off their foundations and heavensward into the hungry abyss. Terra’s breath caught in his throat as he gaped, petrified, at the world crumbling around him. 

It was all over. His home was dying. His master was gone because of _ him _. Aqua had been right to mistrust him. Terra had been too much of a power hungry fool too starved for approval to see Xehanort’s faith and motivation for what it truly was. He had lured Terra exactly where he had wanted him. And now he would take Ven and Aqua from him, too. 

How had it come to this…? _ The darkness… Where did it come from? _ He breathed in, tasting shadows on the wind. Intense and acrid. He remembered this scent, the tang of tarnished bronze laced with the musk of burning cinders. His own darkness carried a different scent. He hadn’t understood before, but he realized now that Xehanort had used the darkness to influence the Mark of Mastery. How easily he’d trusted him… All because of a proud smile and the words _ Master _Terra. 

But that wasn’t the only smile haunting him. He remembered them all: Maleficent’s elation when Terra had taken Aurora’s heart. The sweet innocence of Snow White’s undone by the stark terror in her eyes. The cloying arrogance of the man who had provoked him into using the darkness to _ save _Xehanort. The vainglory in the Captain’s eyes when Terra had agreed to help.

All of his misguided trust and the terrible people he had helped! Every step of his journey had been riddled with mistakes that had hurt people—and now it had come to _ this _.

Heart clenching, he gazed around at his crumbling home. For the first time in his life, he felt lost. He’d always had Master Eraqus to turn to for his sage guidance… But he would never get to hear his master’s voice again.

The earth split with a thunderous quake, fragments of the forecourt splintering away and tumbling into the abyss with other debris of his home, consumed by the darkness he had placed his trust in. How could he have been so blind? A recent friend—Peter?—had told him that he seemed like an easy guy to trick. How right he’d been… 

Goosebumps crept along his arms as the chill of the darkness deepened around him, the world’s light fading. He drew in a shuddery breath, reminded of another who had been tricked like him. He remembered the way Zack had struggled against that intense darkness and _ begged _ Terra to free his heart—and in the end, Terra had saved him. 

There had been others. People he had saved. Friends he had made. 

Brows knitting, he stared into the darkness and tried to recollect their faces. He remembered 626 and his curiosity in wanting to know what a friend was. He had reminded him of himself: misread by the one who had raised him and called dangerous for following his heart. That’s why he had wanted to help 626. In the end, it had been 626 who had helped him realize how much he had missed his own friends.

Ven. Aqua. Terra tore his gaze away from the destruction around him and clenched his jaw. How he wanted to protect them, no matter what it took. He couldn’t fail them. Not like how he had failed Eraqus.

He thought, then, of Cinderella. Of how he just had to _ believe _. That no matter how impossible things might seem, a powerful enough dream would always be enough to light the darkness.

He closed his eyes, still feeling the dampness of tears on his lashes… 

_ Strength. To protect the things that matter. _

And drew in a calming breath. 

_ You know, like my friends. _

Fighting the trembling of his knees, he picked himself off the ground. He reached for his wayfinder and lifted it up, blocking out the sight of the darkness with its delicate star shape. 

He would never forget the crystal clarity in that boy’s sea-colored eyes. 

Warmth and resolution filled his heart, and he slowly closed his fingers around the wayfinder. “Ven, Aqua…”

It wasn’t too late to make things right. Although he knew he would be walking right into Xehanort’s trap, Terra would make this _ his _choice. His darkness was his own, but so was his light. He had friends who needed him. 

Even now, he could see them—Ven’s trusting smile and Aqua’s bright eyes. He gently squeezed the star, reassuring. 

“I won’t let him hurt you.”

Then, with conviction steadying his hand, he summoned his keyblade, ready to face the true darkness.

**Author's Note:**

> For the "Treasured Memories" Fanzine! Prompt was "The darkness... Where did it come from?"


End file.
